The Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (Bryan ADRC) at Duke University Medical Center is one of twenty-eight national Alzheimer's disease centers funded by the National Institute on Aging. The Bryan ADRC, originally funded in September 1985, underwent its second competitive review in 1994 and was successfully renewed May 1995. There are five specific aims of the Bryan ADRC: (1) to provide expertise for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dementing illnesses; (2) to provide the structure and context for the ascertainment, evaluation, longitudinal follow-up and research participation for large families of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients; (3) to disseminate "unique" tissue and provide needed resources for internal and external research; (4) to provide an active clinical center for participation in therapeutic clinical research; and (5) to perform research leading to advances in the biology of AD. Specific aim #3 is pertinent to the Bryan ADRC's utilization of the GCRC. Rapidly retrieved tissue for AD research has proven to be of utmost value to the scientific community which requires this material for basic science research. Accomplishing the dissemination of "unique" tissue and providing needed resources for internal and external research would be unlikely without GCRC utilization. The GCRC provides the mechanics for successfully performing a brain autopsy in less than one hour after death, for surveillance and the collection of data during the terminal phase for the purpose of rapid response at the time of death, and for the application of ethical, dignified, and comfort-oriented care of dying patients.